Tougher sanctions for Assembly Members who breach codes of conduct which could see AMs excluded for conduct breaches have been waved through.

In a low-key vote in the Senedd, a motion to amend the standing orders of the National Assembly was passed unopposed by AMs, which extends the option to exclude a Member for breaches of code of conduct other than financial interests, with the loss of their salary and other rights and privileges.

Among sanctions available will be exclusion and the withdrawal of rights and privileges of any Member found to have been found in breach of Assembly standing orders related to standards of conduct. These rights and privileges could include rights of access to Assembly buildings or to represent the Assembly at events.

The only sanction available under existing rules for breaches other than financial or other interest, is a formal censure, and the change follows a consultation with all 60 Assembly Members, which drew widespread support for the proposals.

The vote comes in the wake of a series of scandals resulting in formal censures of Members, including a recent reprimand for Plaid Cymru AM Bethan Jenkins following her conviction for drink-driving and also a rebuke for Labour’s AM for Llanelli, Keith Davies, last year following a drunken late-night incident with a mystery woman in a five-star Cardiff hotel.

Neither were excluded from the Senedd during investigations into their conduct, though Ms Jenkins was suspended by her own party.

The South Wales West AM was banned from driving for 20 months last December, after being stopped by police while driving barefoot and wearing pyjamas, and more than twice the legal alcohol limit. She apologised later and said she was suffering from depression.

She later courted controversy by failing to attend an Assembly vote on her own censure, attending a protest in London for constituents affected by a pensions dispute.

The incident involving Mr Davies prompted the Assembly’s Standards of Conduct Committee to ask the Independent Commissioner for Standards, Gerard Elias QC, to produce a report on arrangements for dealing with breaches of the code of conduct, which reported in May this year recommending the extension of the rules.

Mr Davies was not suspended by Labour, but was given an official reprimand by the party, which at the time described it as the most serious sanction available. He apologised to AMs at the passing of his own censure last year.

In 2010, Liberal Democrat AM Mick Bates was convicted of punching a paramedic during a drunken night out in Cardiff after a Senedd sitting, which led to him leaving the party and standing down as an AM at the 2011 elections.

“Strengthening of the range of sanctions available to the Assembly demonstrates our commitment to a transparent and accountable institution where Members are expected to attain the highest standards of public office,” said Assembly Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler.

“The fact that Members themselves have voted to adopt these changes shows the dedication and commitment they expect of themselves and each other in representing the interests of the people of Wales, making laws for Wales and holding the Welsh Government to account.”

Mr Elias said in July that despite the two incidents regarding personal conduct, the Assembly had “largely avoided scandals that had bedeviled other institutions”.

He said: “I can report that over the last two and a half years, across the board, the standard of conduct of AMs has brought little justifiable criticism.”